Fastener



(No Model.)

A. P. MOSES.

FASTENER. No. 320,953. Patented June 30, 1885,.

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' NITED STATES PA ENT OFFICE.

ALBERT P. MOSES, OF MALONE, NEWV YORK.

FASTENER.

SPFCIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 320,953, dated June 30, 1885.

Application filed November 13, 1884.

To ail whom it may concern..-

Be it known that I, ALBERT P. MosEs, of Malone, in the county of Franklin, State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Fasteners; of which the following is a description sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is an isometrical perspective view of a carriage provided with my improved fastener, the running-gear .of the carriage not being shown; Fig. 2, a like view of the fastener detached; Fig. 3, avertical longitudinal section of the same, and Fig. 4 a view showing one of the button-holes in the carriagecurtain.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawings.

My invention relates to that class of fasteners which are more especially designed for securing or buttoning on the curtains of carriages, 8m. 5 and it consists in a novel construction and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed, by which a more desirable and effective device of this character is produced than is now in ordinary use.

The nature and operation of the improvement will be readily understood by all conversant with such matters from the following explanation, its extreme simplicity rendering an elaborate description unnecessary.

In the drawings, A represents the body of the carriage, B the top, .0 the curtain, and D the fastener.

The fastener consists of the body m, provided with the annular flange f, attaching shank or tang g, and stop or guard 73. Projecting from the upper portion of the body m, at right angles to the disk f, there is afixed or rigid arm, Z, rounded at its outer end, as shown at o, and provided with the rabbet or catch d, and pivoted at x, in said body, heneath the arm Z, there is a lever, t, rounded at its outer end, as shown at z, and provided with a corresponding rabbet or catch, 3 and stop or guard a. Disposed between the lever (No model.)

tand arm Zt-here is a coiled spring, a, said spring being held in position by proper sockets, and acting expansively to constantly force the lever away from said arm. The bodym is rectangular in vertical cross-section, its lateral diameter being less than the vertical.

The curtain C is provided near its edges with correspondingly-shaped button-holes, b, for receiving the fasteners, the holes being preferably re-enforced by metallic plates or eyelets k. p

In the use of my improvement the fasteners are secured to the top of the carriage by their shanks or tangs 9 after the manner of attaching the ordinary fasteners or buttons, andthe curtain secured by forcing the fasteners through the button-holes, the springs n being compressed as the parts o z pass through the holes, and the catches y d engaging and holding the curtain in a manner which will be readily obvious without a more explicit description.

To detach the curtain from the carriage, the outer ends of the parts 1 t are grasped between the thumb and forefinger of the hand, and the spring a compressed until the catches or rabbets y d are disengaged from .the curtain, after which it may be readily removed from the fastener.

The guards i are to prevent the curtain from passing on overthebody m to such an extent as to interfere with the joint at w, and also to hold it in close contact with the catches y d, and thereby prevent it from rattling.

When the curtain is provided with round button-holes having side slits in the ordinary manner, it is liable to sag between the buttons, or fasteners thereby injuring the appearance of the carriage.

By making the body of my improved fastener rectangular in shape, as described, and forming the button-holes in the curtain to correspond therewith, the curtain is prevented from turning on the fastener, and hence will be held up or kept in much better shape than when the ordinary round fasteners are employed. a

I do not confine myself to the use of the fastener for attaching curtains to carriages only, as it is well adapted for a great variety of other uses, such as attaching the curtains of sleighs to their tops, the traces or tugs of harness to whiffletrees, &c.; or it maybe used as a shutter or window-blind fastener.

The shank 9 may be screw-threaded, if desired.

Any other suitable form of spring may be used for expanding the jaws of the fastener instead of the coiled spring n, if preferred; and instead of securing the fastener by means of the shank y, it may be secured by screws passing through holes formed to receive them in the flange f.

I am aware that carriage-curtain fastenings have heretofore been constructed with a pivoted spring-actuated jaw adapted to act in conjunction with the body of the button or fastener, and I do not claim the same broadly.

Having thus explained my invention, what I claim is- The combination of a fixed jaw, I, provided with a straight inner face, withatapered head, with an exterior shoulder, d, and with a projection or stud, z, back of said shoulder, a movable jaw pivoted to said fixed jaw and pro vided with atapered head, t, with a shoulder, 3 back of said head opposite the shoulder of said fixed jaw, and with a lateral stud or projection, to, opposite the stud of the fixed jaw, and an expansive spring interposed between said jaws, the heads of said jaws when the latter are closed together forming a conical point adapted to readily receive the eyelet of the curtain, substantially as described.

ALBERT P. MOSES.

"Witnesses:

B. J. SoPER, S. O. DUDY. 

